Montanez happy to get a shot with Somerset Patriots

BRIDGEWATER — Luis Montanez was never short on talent or opportunities to showcase it.

But eventually, teams stopped calling. And after the 2012 season came to a close, the former third overall pick in the 2000 major league baseball draft by the Chicago Cubs found himself without a job.

Luis Montanez, considered a top major league prospect when taken in the draft 13 years ago, is playing for the Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League this spring. (Photo by Mike Ashmore)

Enter the independent Atlantic League’s Somerset Patriots.

While big names like Dontrelle Willis and Vladimir Guerrero found themselves garnering national attention for signing with longtime Patriots rival Long Island, the addition of the 31-year-old outfielder in Bridgewater went largely unnoticed. But the affable Puerto Rico native is just five years removed from the season that put him back on the map, and two removed from his most recent stay in the big leagues, a 36-game stint with the Cubs.

“I knew about indy ball, but I didn’t really get into until I started doing my research when I felt it was probably my best opportunity to play this year,” Montanez said. “The more I started looking into it and talking to guys who have played in this league, the more I was starting to get convinced about it. Sure enough, when (assistant director of player personnel) Jon Hunton approached me through the phone and told me about Somerset, I did all the research and it was a no-brainer for me.”

It was, without question, a no-brainer on the Patriots side of things as well. After seven seasons in the Cubs organization (2000-2006), which entailed a move from the infield to the outfield, Montanez inked a deal with the Baltimore Orioles in 2007. That, combined with being able to focus on getting his bat going again, turned his career around.

“I felt a little more comfortable once I made the switch and I could concentrate on hitting a little more, because there are less responsibilities in the outfield as opposed to the infield,” he said. “And yes, when I switched organizations and they brought me in, they were really looking forward to having me and (me) being a part of their plans, and sure enough it happened. I signed in 2007, and it happened in 2008.”

“It” was not only a year in which Montanez won the Double-A Eastern League’s triple crown with a .335 batting average, 26 home runs and 97 runs batted in, but also one in which he finally got to make his major league debut. After nine years in the minors, he finally had put together a year that forced a team’s hand, which is what he knew he had to do to get a chance.

“I think at the age I was at, yes, I had to have a breakout year,” he said. “Not necessarily what I did, but I felt I had to have a really outstanding season to make a push because there were a lot of young prospects that recently signed for a lot of money that they were going to want to give opportunities to. If someone all of a sudden puts up numbers that are over the top, then they have to give them an opportunity, and sure enough it happened.”

But Montanez could never stick in the big leagues with Baltimore, amassing just 55 games with the Orioles over the next two seasons. It was time to move on. It was time, Montanez says, to go back to the franchise that gave him his first opportunity.

“There were mixed emotions, but it was something I wanted to do,” he said of returning to Chicago. “I was proactive in going to the Cubs and saying I wanted to be back in their organization, because I loved that organization. They gave me the opportunity, and I felt I had something to prove or something left to do in that organization. It was only for a year, but I got to play really well in Triple-A and get called up and be a part of the Cubs organization. It felt like closure for me in a sense.”

Montanez split last year between the Phillies — where he was released for the first time in his career after under-performing at Triple-A Lehigh Valley — and the Cardinals, and is now wearing Patriots colors despite surely having more lucrative opportunities overseas.

It is, he acknowledged, a clear sign he hasn’t given up on a return to “The Show.”

“I felt if I came here, it wasn’t going to be just to cash a paycheck — it could also be a stepping stone,” he said. “I could play really good baseball in the States in nice facilities with great crowds and it could serve as a stepping stone. It was win-win-win all around. That’s why it was a no-brainer for me.”